Lectures, Workshops, and Programs
2016-2017 Academic Year Public Outreach
ONGOING
Alexis de Tocqueville Symposium on American Ideals – A campus book group funded by a grant from Koch Foundation since 2013. A dozen students and two professors gather several times each semester to discuss books related to the themes of limited government, liberty, and free markets.
FOR 2016-2017 ACADEMIC YEAR
5/18/2017 – Shell Employees Retiree Association, “Americas Founding Documents.” Dr. Hammons spoke on the importance of our nation’s Founding Principles and how each of our nation’s founding documents play a unique role in our political system.
5/9/2017 – Daughters of the American Revolution, Lady Washington Chapter, “Boston: City of the Revolution.” Dr. Hammons spoke about the importance of Boston to the American Revolution and the scheduled trip of HBU students to see the city.
4/18/2017 – Roots of American Constitutionalism Campus Lecture Series at HBU, “Revolution and Constitutionalism.” This lecture focused on the influence of impact of the American Revolution – in terms of ideals and intent – on the construction of the US Constitution. Dr. Tony Joseph, Professor of History at HBU, was the featured speaker.
4/15/2017 – First Presbyterian Church, Houston, “The Six Trials of Jesus Christ.” Dr. John Tyler presented a lecture recounting the historical context of Christ’s trials, the conspiracies against Christ, the characteristics of the Roman and Jewish legal systems, and the impact of these trials on world history.
3/28/2017 – Sons of the American Revolution, Alexander Hodge Chapter. “Freedom of Religion and the American Founders.” Dr. Hammons spoke about the religious views of the Founding Fathers and the role of religion in republican government.
02/20/2017 – Roots of American Constitutionalism Campus Lecture Series at HBU, “Common Law and English Liberty.” This lecture focused on the influence of English Common Law on the American Founding with particular emphasis on the concepts of limited government and the rule of law. Dr. John Tyler, Associate Professor of Law & Jurisprudence at HBU, was the featured speaker.
2/18/2017 – Daughters of the American Revolution, James Hardage Lane Chapter. “Faith and the Founding Fathers.” Dr. Hammons spoke about the religious views of the Founding Fathers and the role of religion in republican government.
2/6/2017 – Texas A&M University, College Station, TX, “Abortion and the Constitution.” Dr. Tyler reviewed US Supreme Court cases on abortion restrictions beginning with Planned Parenthood v. Casey (1992) through Whole Woman’s Health v. Hellerstedt (2016) in which the Supreme Court struck down the recent Texas abortion statute restricting abortions.
2/4/2017 – Daughters of the American Revolution, James Hardage Lane Chapter. “Faith and the Founding Fathers.” Dr. Hammons spoke about the religious views of the Founding Fathers and the role of religion in republican government.
1/28/2017 – American Heritage Education Foundation Event, “The Life and Thought of Jonathan Edwards.” Dr. Tyler presented the keynote address on “The Life and Thought of Jonathan Edwards” at the American Heritage College Bowl awards dinner on at the Doubletree Greenway Plaza Hotel in Houston. The address traced Jonathan Edwards’ contributions to American theology and philosophy.
1/26/2017 – HBU’s Center for Law & Liberty Speaker Series – hosted a lecture by Professor Justin Dyer on “CS Lewis, Natural Law, and Politics.” Dr. Dyer is the Director of the Kinder Institute on Constitutional Democracy at the University of Missouri. He is the author of several books and numerous articles on natural law and American Politics. The lecture was underwritten by a grant from the Herzstein Charitable Foundation.
11/7/2016 – American Museum Society, “Five Things Every American Should Know About the Electoral College.” Dr. Hammons discussed the history and purpose of the Electoral College.
11/3/2016 – Roots of American Constitutionalism Campus Lecture Series at HBU, “The Magna Carta and English Liberty.” This lecture focused on the Magna Carta, its connection to the US Constitution, and its importance to the concepts of liberty and limited government. Dr. David Davis, Assistant Professor of History at HBU, was the featured speaker.
10/22/2016 – Teachers Workshop on Religious Liberty at HBU, “Founding Fathers and Religion.” – Dr. Chris Hammons, Professor of Government and Director of the Center for Law & Liberty, participated in two teacher’s workshops on the topic of religious liberty in America. He was part of a panel of presenters at a workshop hosted on the HBU campus on 10-22 sponsored by the American Heritage Education Foundation. The panel also included Dr. John Tyler, Associate Professor of Law at HBU. There were about 50 teachers in attendance.
10/22/2016 – Teachers Workshop on Religious Liberty at HBU, “Roots of Religious Liberty.” Dr. Tyler presented this lecture at the annual America Heritage Teacher’s Seminar at Houston. This lecture surveyed the theological arguments for religious liberty presented by Augustine (354-430) in The City of God (circa 426), Martin Luther (1483-1546) in Secular Authority: To What Extent It Should Be Obeyed (1523), and John Calvin (1509-1564) in The Institutes of the Christian Religion (1536). The lecture closed with a discussion of the guarantees of religious liberty by the Colonies and the U.S. Constitution.
10/20/2016 – Teachers Workshop on Religious Liberty, Albuquerque, NM, “Religious Liberty and the First Amendment.” Dr. Hammons was the featured scholar at a workshop sponsored by the Bill of Rights Institute held in Albuquerque, NM on 10-20-16. There were about 40 teachers in attendance. Both workshops allowed high school teachers to explore the history and importance of religious freedom in America by looking at the correspondence of the Founding Fathers, the Constitution, and Supreme Court cases.
10/4/2016 – Roots of American Constitutionalism Campus Lecture Series at HBU, “Do As the Romans Do, Only Better.” This lecture focused on the contributions of the Ancient Rome, our modern idealization of the Roman Empire, and the lessons that America’s Founders took from the fall of the Roman Republic. Dr. Steve Jones, Assistant Professor of Classics at HBU, was the featured speaker.
09/20/2016 – Bill of Rights Institute Teachers Workshop, Midland, TX, “Religious Liberty and the First Amendment.” Teacher’s workshop held in Albuquerque, NM. Workshop explored the views, correspondence, and related documents from various Founding Fathers related to the subject of religion, politics, and religious freedom. Dr. Hammons was the featured scholar at the workshop.
9/15/2016 – Bill of Rights Institute Teachers Workshop, “Religious Liberty and the First Amendment.”– Dr. Hammons was the featured scholar on this examination of the historical and legal application of the 1st Amendment religious clauses. About 30 teachers in attendance. Hosted by the Bill of Rights Institute.
9/8/2016 – Roots of American Constitutionalism Campus Lecture Series at HBU, “The Beautiful Failure of Greek Democracy.” This lecture focused on the contributions of the Ancient Greeks, our modern idealization of democratic Athens, and the lessons that America’s Founders took from the turmoil and downfall of Greek democracy.
8/13/2016 – “The Ancient Origins of the US Constitution,” Reasons to Believe Society on, at First Presbyterian Church, Houston. Dr. Tyler lectured on seven foundation principles of the U.S. Constitution and the influence of constitutional failures in Athens and the Roman Republic on these principles.
7/26/2016
Sons of the American Revolution, Alexander Hodge Chapter, Houston, “The Myth and Meaning of Paul Revere.” Dr. Hammons discussed the importance of Paul Revere to the Revolutionary movement.
